The Battle Within
by Sugar7Sweet
Summary: Sophie has crashed on a deserted island while flying with a group of schoolboys. Jack, who had already flirted with her on the plane, has captivated her attention. But Ralph, who is caring and charismatic, also vies for her affection. As they progress with their lives on the island, she must choose between the two rivaling boys. Will it be love, or moral righteousness?
1. Chapter 1: Lost

**Sophie Evermore: Long dark brown hair and hazel green eyes, pale complexion, portrayed by India Eisley. She is 14.**

**Jack: Beautiful beach-blonde hair, sun-kissed skin, startling gorgeous icy blue eyes. Abs. Portrayed by original actor from the 1990 movie. He is 14.**

**Ralph: Chiseled, bronzed skin and muscular stature, ruffled golden brown hair and light brown eyes. Abs. He is 14. I couldn't find the link for the picture :(**

**Roger: Straight, black hair, and piercing green eyes. Has an intimidating, fierce look on his face. Muscular and broad, portrayed by Gerard Ways. He is 13.**

**Simon: Golden curly blonde hair, bright green (ocean blue) eyes and rosy cheeks. Resembles a child angel. Portrayed by original actor from the 1990 movie. He is 12.**

**Disclaimers: **

*** I do not own LOTF**

*** There will be some describing words that will be purposely repetitive throughout the story (Sorry if it bugs anyone that I'll be describing how gorgeous Jack is every 5 sentences)**

*** WARNING: The main OC, the character of Sophie, might be viewed by some as a mary-sue. I don't know. You decide, and tell me at the end if there's anything I could fix about her. Overall, her personality is very gentle and morally righteous, so yeah...**

**Other than that, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1

I merged from the shallow depth of the tidal pool onto the warm, countless grains of sand of the beach. I shook my long, dark hair, dripping seawater around me. My head felt dizzy, my limbs exhausted. I could hardly see in front of me. Salt and miniature sea life clogged my ears, my feet, and my clothes. Wiping down my dark blue uniform dress now soaked and immensely heavy on my body, I removed my thick navy jacket to decrease the weight of wet clothing on my skin. I squeezed it to dry, wrapped it up in my arm, and began trekking up the beach.

The boiling heat from the sun made my body resist walking any longer. My sandals had been swept away by the sea while I had fallen unconscious, allowing my feet to burn slowly as I walked. I didn't know for how long I had been knocked out, all I remembered was that my flight hadn't quite made it to America. I couldn't quite believe what was happening. Not that it was my most enjoyable flight, but I wasn't asking to for a crash-course into an uninhabited, seemingly completely deserted island.

I went to the strict, all-girls school next to the boy's military school in England. But I was a true American, native of Bronx, New York. My father was a military soldier and had sent me to boarding school while he fought in the war. But everyone was getting sent to America, or in my case, getting sent back, and evacuated for our safety. I was anxious to return home, trying to ignore being stuck on a plane with about 30 other boys (there wasn't enough room on the other flight), and then this has to happen. What a ridiculously tragic turn of events. I may be trapped here forever, with lord knows who else managed to survive that crash.

I was so preoccupied by my thoughts that before I knew it, I had walked straight into a pit of sharp, tangled vines amidst the trees, my mind naturally directing me towards the shade. I tugged at my foot. I cried out at the pain on my bare foot, but no luck. The leg was firmly caught between the vines and some heavy rocks, and I would possibly not be able to release my foot myself. I was stuck.

"Sophie! Sophie!" A voice cried out from only a few meters away. "Sophie! Sophia Evermore!" Was it a miracle? Was it a dream? Or was there someone really on this island who knew my name? Before I could reply to my savior, a boy came running out of the bushes. Yes, I knew this boy. I had only met him hours ago aboard the plane, but I remembered him clearly.

I boarded the plane with a grimace in my head, but a forced smile on my face. I didn't like the sound of a 10-hour flight with about 30 boys, but if that's what it was going to take to go home, home to America, then I would gladly endure it. I didn't have any disdain for boys, but I wasn't particularly fond of them as girls my age were. I saw no reason to drool over them in my spare time. It was apparent, by all the young boys' curious stares, that this would be a very long flight. Sighing, I walked barely two steps before a blonde boy whistled.

"You can sit here, if you'd like." The boy grinned, flashing his big white teeth. His hair, a beautiful beach blonde shade, was rumpled and flowing with perfection. His face had a slick, admirable look to it. The sunlight shone brilliantly on his pale skin, making him appear to be glowing. This gorgeous boy's icy blue eyes bore into me as I walked to accept the seat next to him. They looked like they could be cold, perhaps even cruel, but looking at me they were simply a beautiful, startling blue, nothing but curiosity and a slightly wicked cheeriness in them. Maybe this was his usual nature towards females. From the moment I sat down he immediately began to shamelessly flirt.

"So, princess. May I have your acquaintance?"

I turned slowly and looked directly in his eyes, trying very hard not to stare, and spoke calmly:

"My _name_ is Sophie. Sophia Evermore."

He gave a quirky, one-sided smirk that made me inhale very quickly. This boy was beautiful, just a lift of his cheek could make my heart pound.

"Honored. Name's Jack. Jack Merridew." Everything he said was with a pompous, self-confident manner, with his smooth English accent and no hesitation in his tone. Maybe he was used to being the leader around here.

"Well, Sophia. What brings you here to our humble country? I see you're from America."

"I like Sophie," I corrected. "And my papa had to send me here because of the war. He's a soldier."

"I see, _Sophie_." Jack's eye glimmered as he winked. "What about your mother? Wasn't she awfully sad to have to send you to this place?"

I shook my head. "My mother died when I was young."

"I'm sorry," Jack spoke softly. It was the first time I heard sincerity in his voice.

"It's alright. My father is very kind, and he loves me."

Jack chuckled darkly. "My father doesn't. He'd just like to see me grow up as a military maniac. He expects me to be perfect in everything."

"Oh. Jack, that's awful."

He surprised me with another smirk. "Not that it's difficult, in my case."

I rolled my eyes. I had tried to be caring and sensitive, my first nature, but apparently Jack Merridew wouldn't take any of it. He simply enjoyed flirting with every girl he set eyes on. Irritated, I turned my head away from him and began singing a song in my head to distract me from my surroundings. In my case, loud, giggling schoolboys.

Jack tapped my shoulder. "Was that too much? But you have to admit, you've probably been fantasizing about me since you saw me." How dare this Jack Merridew be so arrogant? But his words weren't exactly false, and I held my breath, hoping he couldn't hear the fluttering in my stomach. "Come on, admit it. You like what you see. Hm?" I couldn't look away as he cocked one pale eyebrow. I laughed, finally giving in, as he poked me and continued, "Come on, say it! Come on!" His laugh tinkled with mine, like a melody. I could hear in his voice, he was possibly a singer. As I laughed, I saw a bronzed, golden-brown haired boy looking at me from the aisle seats. He shied away when he saw me looking back. So not everyone in military school was like Jack. This one was quite good-looking as well. I blushed. Were all these boys not used to seeing girls? Why would they all be staring at me? I wasn't used to attention. For the fourteen years of my life, I had managed to stay at the back of people's vision, being a pretty timid and quiet person in public. But I sort of felt comfortable around boys, the way I couldn't around girls. Boys had a different, more pure nature, from what I figured. Girls could be very irritating, gossipy and talkative.

"Have I got to you yet? Are you in love with me?"

I chuckled. "Yes, Jack. You're incredible." Jack smiled, appearing satisfied. I lay back, relaxing my head on the cushiony plane seat. Maybe I could actually enjoy this flight. My eyes closed, my fingers nonchalantly drumming the armrest. I felt a flutter when Jack slid his arm onto the same armrest, brushing against my hand. I slipped into a near-unconscious state, drowning out the noises about the plane, when I first felt the turbulence...

* * *

While I was surprised Jack could remember my full name, I felt a stab of annoyance as he came closer, his gorgeous blond hair blowing wildly over his forehead and eyes that smirked devilishly. He clearly didn't believe I was capable of taking care of myself. But this was a slightly desperate situation. I couldn't possibly free my leg now on my own, without cutting them.

"Need some assistance?" His lips parted into that half smile. His crooked, but beautiful teeth just barely showing between them. What was with me? Why couldn't I get it out of my head, silly girl?

"Yes, please." Jack whipped out a small survival knife from the pockets of his uniform shorts, and slashed at the vines, unbinding me from the tangle. I noticed, maybe feared, the determined look in his eyes as he used the weapon.

"Thank you," I said quickly. I didn't want his head to inflate any bigger.

"You're most welcome." He grinned. "Have you seen any of the others? You're the first person from the plane I've found."

"No, not yet. But we can't possibly be the only survivors. They must be around somewhere." I searched around me. Blue skies filled with just the right number of clouds, forests and greenery were all I saw. No humans. Not a living being in sight.

"Maybe we should go and look for them." Before we could move, however, a long, strange noise filled the air. I had never heard a sound like this before, but it sounded like some sort of musical instrument, playing a single, low note. One thing was clear however- someone was blowing the sound.

"Maybe there'll be a man with a trumpet," Jack said excitedly. "To rescue us. Come on, Sophie." He lightly put his arm on my back, guiding me towards the sound.

There was no man with a trumpet, though. All Jack and I saw was a group of the young schoolboys sitting around one older boy. He held what looked like a shell, probably used to make the sound. Next to him was a fat, squat boy who looked slightly younger, maybe 12 or 11. A pair of wide, round glasses sat on his little nose. He introduced himself to us first, as Piggy.  
Jack nearly fell over with laughter. "Piggy!" he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. He could look so mature and handsome, yet have the maturity of a 5-year old.

The boy holding the conch was the brown-haired boy I had seen on the plane earlier. Now that I saw him more closely, I could see how incredibly cute he was, too. But not in the exact same way as Jack. His face was like a sculpture, chiseled and bronzed. His clean white, but soaking wet shirt stuck to his chest. I could see now that he was built and fit, muscles clearly showing through. His body read hot, but his face was attractive in a pretty little boy, charismatic kind of way.

"Well," Jack said haughtily. He clearly wasn't satisfied with this authoritative, but young boy. "If it isn't Ralph King."

"Hullo, Jack." Ralph replied politely. Then he turned to me. "I'm Ralph. Pleasure to meet you." He shook my hand warmly. I could feel my cheeks grow warm as his brown eyes twinkled at me.

"Ralph _King_," Jack added, snickering. "You're the headmaster's favorite, aren't you?"

"I don't think that's quite what I am-"

"Whatever. I'm Jack. Jack Merridew." He put his hands on his hips, grinning.

"I know you," Ralph said. "You're the head of the choir."

"That's right. I can sing a C#." He said proudly. "Would you all like to hear?"

"I think we should get on with roll call," replied Ralph. Looking at me, he said asked, "Name?"

"Sophie Evermore," I answered softly. His dimpled cheeks put a small smile to my face. As we exchanged looks, I saw Jack's icy eyes frown.

"Well! Let's get on with it then!" Jack yelled loudly. Ralph and I both jumped, startled, but shared a quick smile before the other boys began belting out their names.

"Bill!"

"Maurice!"

"Henry!"

"Percival!" Squeaked a particularly tiny boy.

"Roger," said a pitch-black haired boy in the corner of the huddle. I could barely hear his low voice, but it sounded rough and maybe a little menacing to me. I saw that he and Maurice must be best friends, as he was the only one Roger would let close to him. He sat on a big rock, aloof and slightly distanced from everyone else. This boy had a strange, mysterious aura around him. Like he didn't want anyone to touch him. I felt it would almost be dangerous to be in close proximity of Roger. Maurice rumpled his hair with his fingers, and nudged Roger to loosen his stiff mood, laughing. The two were complete opposites. Maurice had kind, hazel eyes and chestnut brown hair, and wouldn't stop grinning. Roger's eyes, I noticed, were a bright, striking green.

"Alright, listen up," Ralph spoke with authority. "There doesn't seem to be anyone here except us. We're going to have to have rules, and behave as disciplined as possible around here. If we want to be rescued quickly, we need to work together. I think we should have some sort of constant signal going, like a fire." I immediately admired the leadership qualities Ralph clearly possessed- his voice was strong and direct; his eyes were caring and charismatic as he spoke to the boys. "As for the conch in my hands, you can speak anytime during an assembly when you're holding it. That's the rule. Whenever the conch is blown, we'll know we're going to have assembly."

"Can I have the conch?" Jack asked. When it was handed to him, he said, "Yes, we've definitely got to build a fire. And everyone ought to follow the rules, so we can survive." I felt Jack had just repeated what Ralph had said to gain the same sense of control. But I didn't say anything.

"We oughtta have a chief!" Bill cried out.

"Yes, a chief, a leader!"

The boys agreed excitedly.

"I should be chief," Jack exclaimed, as I predicted. "I am the oldest here, and therefore most knowledgeable."

"But what about him with the conch?"

"Yeah, I think Ralph should be chief!"

"Yeah, Ralph!"

"No, Jack!" The boys continued argue over who would be more fit as their leader.

"Everybody QUIET!" Ralph shouted. Immediately, the noise died down. Ralph was dictatorial, and I could clearly see who would win this election.

"Ok, everybody who wants Jack for chief, raise their hands." A handful of boys, including Roger and Maurice, raised their hands. "Now who wants me for chief?" The rest of the boys put their hands up. He didn't need to count one by one to see who had won the votes.

"Ok, then, I guess I'm chief," Ralph concluded. Jack's pale cheeks flushed, clearly humiliated.

"Wait, Sophie hasn't voted yet," he said. He and Ralph looked at me, two pairs of gorgeous eyes boring into my green ones.

"I, uh I…" I stammered, hesitant. I didn't know who to choose. Jack had saved me from the vines, and he had captured my attention from the beginning. But Ralph was the obvious choice for a good leader.

"I can't choose," I finally said with a sigh. "I'm sorry." I didn't work well under pressure, and at the moment, every boy in the group were pressuring me to vote Jack, or Ralph. My vote wouldn't have mattered anyway. Ralph was still the winner.

"Fine," Ralph said, a disappointed grimace on his lips. Jack simply scowled. I wasn't sure if it was just my crazy imagination, but at that moment I saw a look exchanged between the two boys, a spark of jealousy between their eyes. I gulped. Well this was going to be…interesting. Jack leapt off the rock he had been standing tall and proud on for the past few minutes, his ego bruised, and walked into the forest alone. No one bothered to follow him. Ralph continued speaking to the crowd, putting each of the boys to work at building a camp. He assigned some of the "biguns" (older boys) to look after the "littleuns" (younger boys.) We were to work together to make shelters, find food and water, and build a fire on the mountaintop. When he was finished, I headed into the forest following the direction that Jack had gone in. I figured my job as a babysitter could wait a little. Ralph began to say something, but closed his mouth and let me wander into the forest.

It was surprisingly calm, and relaxing once I let myself get lost in the midst of the trees. A jungle lay in the middle of the forest, with creepers and vines crawling up towering trees. I followed Jack's bare footprints, leading me to the very center of the jungle. It was a fairly small island, not quite big enough to get lost in without finding your way back to the beach in a few hours. Here, I found my breath taken away by a beautiful blue lagoon, filled with sparkling water. It shone brightly back at me from the light of the sun, peeking through the trees. I stepped around the pool of water, admiring it, when I saw Jack sitting on one of the rocks closest to the water. Small cliffs and rocks surrounded the lagoon. I climbed over to him as quietly as I could, hoping if I came up to him before he saw me, maybe he wouldn't push me away, and sat down next to him on the rock. He didn't look up. He mindlessly played with a small stone near him, and then threw it down into the water. It broke the pool's still, motionless being with a tiny splash, ripples appearing all around the stone now sinking to the bottom of the lagoon forever.

"Are you okay?" I began, looking up into Jack's face. One eye was covered by a short lock of golden hair. He flicked it away, then looked down at me.

"I'm fine," he said. He stretched his arms out wide and leaned back on the rocks behind him. "Nothing I haven't been through before."

"What have you been through before?"

"Rejection," he said simply. His mouth smiled lightly but his eyes were still dark, his pupils narrowed. "A little injury, but no damage done. I'll be alright."

"Thanks again," I said. "For saving me. It would've been a lot harder for me to move the vines without the knife."

"You're welcome," he said, suddenly grinning. "You really are a girl, aren't you? You really couldn't get out of those vines yourself?"

"Oh-Jack Merridew!" I was finished trying to boost his ego. His head had apparently inflated back to its original size-enormous. "I don't believe you!" I shoved him gently, who was now shaking with laughter. He pushed me back. I giggled, then reached down to the water and splashed him in the face.

"There! I hope you're happy now that you're head is the size of an elephant again!"

"I sure am." He splashed me back. Laughing, we continued our playful splashing until I eventually pushed him into the water, head first. He spiraled out of the pool, blowing out water from his mouth, his clothes now drenched. His body rose up slowly, he shook his wet hair back and forth, he was elegant, like a dolphin rising up after doing a trick. Quickly, he grabbed my ankles and shoved me in as well. I laughed and shrieked as we continued our splashing in the lagoon. In the midst of it all, he took off his soaking t-shirt and military jacket. I held my breath. He was astonishingly beautiful, his bare chest gleaming under the sun. I couldn't look away from his perfectly articulated 6-pack, his shoulder muscles that flexed every time he stretched his arms. He must have caught me distracted, because at that precise moment he managed to dunk my head into the water. Screaming and gasping, I pulled myself up and attempted to return the favor. Jack guffawed. I didn't have enough strength to even move his head.

"There's nothing funny about it," I huffed. "If I can't even fight you, how am I supposed to survive on this island?" He simply shrugged, and we returned to our playing again, this time being more careful as we messed with each other.

* * *

As the two teenagers splashed and laughed, the sounds echoing throughout the entire jungle, Ralph watched them from a well-hidden wall of greenery and tall trees. His brown eyes frowned. He didn't like the two of them being so friendly. And goodness, the way that shameless Jack Merridew ripped his shirt off like he was some god, like he could get his hands on any girl, Ralph did not like that at all. He was going to be very watchful of the two of them now. He couldn't deny that a small seed of affection was growing in him for Sophie, who was so purely beautiful, and looked so innocent. From how childish and cocky Jack behaved earlier, he didn't deserve someone like that. _Sophie may prefer you now, _Ralph thought. _But just wait, Jack Merridew. Just wait…_


	2. Chapter 2: Torn

Chapter 2

One of the boys that I had found especially intriguing that first day was the young, strange one named Simon. We all soon found out that Simon fainted easily, and he had a tendency of going off on his own into the forest. He liked to speak to himself, I think, when no one was watching. I liked that he was pure and silent, yet he seemed to spout wisdom out of his head far beyond the average mind of a twelve-year old. Today he was perched on a small boulder on the beach, alone, a thoughtful expression on his face. His face was stunning. He reminded me of an angel, with his pale blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and curly golden blonde hair. He looked so innocent, so beautiful.

Since Sam and Eric, the twins, took over my shift to watch the littleuns, I walked over to Simon, and took a seat next to him. I didn't notice until I got closer to him that a small stick lay in his hand. His curious little eyes looked at me for a moment, then he began circling the sand under his feet with the stick.

"Hello, Simon," I said. "What are you doing?" He didn't answer. "What do you have there, a stick?"

"Yes," he said softly. He continued drawing circles. Then suddenly, his eyes met mine. "How are you holding up here?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, startled.

"Well, it must be awfully difficult, being the only girl and all," he said. "I just wanted to know you were okay."

"I'll be fine, really." I smiled warmly at Simon's kindness. He really was a caring, sweet little boy. "Thanks, Simon."

"You can trust me," he said simply, before letting his eyes wander off again.

"I know," I replied. "I think I can. More than anyone here." I stretched my arms out and lay back in the sand. "It's actually kind of beautiful here."

Simon smiled. "I've been admiring the forests. There's a beautiful place in there, a wide grass clearing. A meadow. And another place…deep inside the jungle." He shot up from the rock, taking me by surprise. "Would you like to see?"

I grinned. "Sure, Simon." I was beginning to like this odd, mysterious, and sweet boy more and more. I let him lead the way into the forest, through the vines and the thick jungle leaves. Ralph and Jack were both busy dictating over their little groups of followers- Ralph with the younger boys and builders, Jack with his hunters, to notice my absence. Simon led me deep into the very center of the forest, where I had briefly visited before, where the jungle was. Short of breath, I was about to ask the boy to stop and rest before we went any further, when suddenly everything halted on its own. He let go of my hand to part a curtain of vines, and slowly we made our way into a beautiful place. It was a part of the jungle, hidden well by the creepers and trees, tall plants blooming all around. Flowers of every shade and hue danced around the center, covered with wet, delicate grass. It was breath-taking. A bird fluttered from the trees into the sky, singing melodically. A tree stump perfect for sitting on came into view. We walked over to rest there, watching the living and breathing nature truly come to life in this wonderful place.

"Wow," I breathed, not removing my eyes from everything around me. "It's really gorgeous. I see why you love it here."

"I come here every day," Simon answered. "It's a place where I can think, collect my thoughts." A tiny blue bird soared down towards them, and landed on his fingertips. He let the bird flutter on him for a bit, before letting it fly away with a motion of his hand. I smiled. I could feel myself getting very close to Simon. We had shared this time, this place together, and I knew from then on that he was the one person I could always trust, always stick by.

After we got back to the others, I felt like we had become best friends. And over the course of the next week, we really did. Together we swam in the lagoon, walked along the beach, played with the littleuns, went out to collect berries in the woods, and of course, visited our private hiding place, where we could sit on tree stumps and watch the sun fade away into darkness. We would stay there until night fell, and crawl into camp after the evening bonfire had been lit (the boys figured out to use Piggy's glasses to create the fire.) We sat next to each other by the flames, and told each other stories from our lives. I sometimes even fell asleep on his thin shoulders, and woke up next to my new best friend when the sun came up again.

Of course, I spent an adequate amount of my time on the island with Simon, but he wasn't the only boy who ventured into my every day routines. Ralph and Jack, separately of course, both continued to vie for my attention. Ralph insisted on making sure my shelter was secure, and kept coming to fix it up, or repair the roofs. We had build three shelters in the first week, and I was to have a whole one to myself, according to Ralph's orders, because I was a girl.

"Why should that make a difference?" I had asked, putting my hands on my hips. I liked Ralph's chivalry, but I still didn't enjoy gender discrimination very much.

"I just want you to be protected, and comfortable," he said. He smiled at me, small dimples cutting his cheeks. "I'm sorry if you feel I'm being rude. I was just brought up that way, see, to treat girls in the best way possible. I hope you'll forgive me."

I couldn't help but smile back. Ralph was so sweet, so caring and helpful towards everyone. He _was _the right choice for a leader, despite the fact that he couldn't do very much. He wasn't a natural hunter, but he was a natural leader. He organized everything so everyone would have a place to sleep, and work to do. I admired that. After sleeping arrangements were made, I helped him, Simon, Piggy, and some other biguns build another shelter before I went to my babysitting duties.

Of course, Ralph's "orders" didn't stop me from letting some of the youngest littleuns share with me. I enjoyed sleeping with those cute, tiny kids cuddled up in my arms. I wasn't very good at taking care of children- I would often let them do as they pleased instead of scolding them, but I loved having them around. It reminded me that there was still a fun, innocent world out there. It kept me wanting desperately to leave the island, to return to civilization.

Jack and his gang had the opposite effect on me. He had chosen to lead a group of older boys in hunting. They called themselves the hunters, and went out into the forest every day to look for the pigs that they'd spotted on their first day. Of course, Jack and his hunters had yet managed to kill a pig, but their leader always had his knife in his pocket, ready to strike whenever he got a chance. I could tell Jack had a dark, almost dangerous side to him, a competitive and vicious personality that flared whenever he was hunting. But he also managed to be playful and flirty with me, almost sweet, on occasion.

"How's the babysitting going, dollface?" I looked up from watching over the littleuns run around on the beach to Jack's face. It was gleaming with sweat under the disappearing sunlight, due to his hunting trip, and I found it startlingly pretty, despite his right cheek being covered with dirt and debris. A bloody scratch ran from his left jaw to his neck.

Going back to reality, I raised my eyebrow and replied, "How would you enjoy sitting and watching children all day?"

"I wouldn't take it very well." Jack sniggered. He plopped down on the rocky sand next to me. We both looked out for a moment, awkwardly avoiding each other's eyes. I finally glanced over at him, and found him already looking at me. He coughed, embarrassed.

"You have a cut," I said, trying to distract him from the awkwardness. I reached my hand up instinctively to examine it, but drew back when I saw he was a bit startled.

"No, please," he said. "Continue. I love when you get all touchy-feely." Jack smirked.

"I'm sure you do," I said, annoyed. But I still cleaned up the half-dried blood from his neck.

"Thanks," he said softly, seeming genuine this time. I smiled.

"You're welcome." I didn't object as he slightly put his arm on my back. Slowly, it naturally slid to my waist. I was too tired to say anything, and if I must be completely honest, I was happy about it. Jack Merridew could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he was so breath taking. Not just his face, or his perfect abs, but the way he made me felt when he spoke to me. His voice was like melted chocolate. And how cocky and big-headed he could be, the way he talked like he owned the world and my heart- well that was charming, too. I eventually leaned my head gently on his shoulder, glad that his shoulder muscles were more soft and comfortable than Simon's. We both watched the sunset, this time to really enjoy it, and not to avoid looking at each other. After the sun finally faded away, I slipped out of Jack's arm to go to bed in my shelter.

"Good night, Jack," I said to him before I walked away.

"Sleep well," he answered. But even then, his cocky half-smile returned. "You ought to get some sleep before you use up all your energy on those bratty littleuns." I sighed.

"I'll try my best," I said, sticking my tongue out. He laughed at me, and I went into my shelter. I knew even though Jack was joking, he was right. Living on the island was tiring, and I would need all the rest I could get. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, using a pile of leaves as a pillow.


	3. Chapter 3: Choices

Chapter 3

"Sophie!" a voice said outside my shelter. "Want to go for a walk?" I yawned, and stretched my neck out to see who could be talking to me at what appeared to be 6 or 7 in the morning. It was Ralph, his shirt now abandoned like the other boys'. He stood in nothing but his red shorts, and a grin on his face.

"Ralph!" I exclaimed, shocked. "You must be freezing!" I immediately stumbled outside, despite my eyes barely staying open in the early morning. It was slightly misty, if not foggy on the island. It was that morning tropical air, right before the sun came fully up. From the forest, I could hear birds chirping as their day began. As soon as I was out, the cool dawn air cut my skin like knives. I wished I had put on my school jacket, which was curled up in a ball inside. I shivered. My dress had short sleeves, and I crossed my arms to keep them warm.

"Nah, I'm fine," said Ralph. Then he noticed me shaking. "Are you cold? Do you want to get your jacket?"

"No, it's okay," I said. "What are you doing here? Aren't you tired?"

"I just got up early and I thought, why not take a walk? I was just wondering if you'd like to join me." A normal person might have been annoyed, or even angry, at someone waking them up this early in the morning. But I was a little flattered that Ralph would bother to ask me, and I couldn't refuse him as his hand reached out towards me, his brown eyes twinkling. I nodded, and he pulled me into the forest.

We walked silently in the pathless woods, exploring new areas between trees, near the jungle. Nearly half an hour had passed, at least it felt like it, before one of us said a word.

"So, Sophie," Ralph began. "How was school like for you? You must have missed your parents awfully."

"I did," I said. "I still do. I was supposed to see them when I got home. After 2 years, I was finally going to see my family again. But then we got stuck on this island."

"I'm sorry. I know things are different in England, from America, but I can assure you, all of us boys in our school are proper gentlemen. We'll keep you safe here, make sure you see your parents again."

"And my younger brother," I said with a smile. "I've missed him so much. He's very young, much younger than me, but he was dreadfully keen on seeing me." I didn't realize until now that a tear was rolling down my cheek. "And mother and papa. They were so anxious for me to return. Now I may never see them." I wiped my tears away. I didn't want to cry in front of Ralph. He already thought I was a weak little girl. I had to stay strong.

He gently pushed my hair out of my face, and tucked it behind my ear. My wet eyes looked up to meet his, and for a second, we just stared at each other. But then we quickly looked away. It was like what had happened with Jack. Ralph simply patted my back, and we hugged.

"It'll be alright, Sophie. You'll see them again. I promise." I nodded, comforted. I had only been resting my head on him for a moment when I heard the other boys waking up. I parted from him slowly, and we began making our way back to the beach.

As we came out from the final layer of trees and back onto the sand, who else but Jack Merridew could've spotted us and came running? His icy eyes flashed towards Ralph, and with jealousy and unmistakable irritation in his voice, he asked, "Where have you guys been? Everyone's already started working."

"We were just taking a walk in the forest," Ralph answered calmly. There was no taunting in his voice, yet his eyes seemed rather cheery as he saw Jacks' getting narrower.

"Oh. Well, you should've told us. We were looking for you guys." When we didn't say anything, he continued, "I'm going out hunting again. Morning, sunshine." He smirked at me, and then brushed past us to head into the forest. Ralph frowned.

"'_Hunting_,'" repeated Ralph sarcastically, making quotation marks in the air. I chuckled. "Oh, well. Let's go keep an eye on the fire."

We didn't leave each other's sides until evening. Jack, who had apparently headed out on his own, did not return until dinnertime, but when he did, he had storied to tell, or boast rather, about everything he had found out about the pigs. Ralph merely rolled his eyes while Jack described exactly where and when they could find the pigs, and how they could kill them.

"I was carefully following them, watching them all day. I've got a hook on their exact patterns and daily routines. I think next time, if we can be absolutely professional, we'll be able to get them." Jack grinned broadly, then sat down by the fire. He grabbed a piece of fish a bigun had caught earlier, and began chewing on it ravenously. Ralph chose this moment to pull me closer to him, wrapping me in almost a tight hug. Jack ignored us, taking a long sip from a half-coconut shell. And I just felt so torn. Ralph clearly wanted me, I could tell he liked me from how possessive he got whenever Jack was around. And today, in the forest, he had been so close to me, he had nearly held my face in his hands. But was that what I had wanted?

Ralph decided to go to his shelter early and rest, and said good night to us, even though the sun hadn't set. This left me, Jack, Roger, Maurice, and a couple littleuns sitting around the fire. I chose to go and walk along the beach alone. Simon was nowhere to be seen today, probably hiding in his secret spot. Today I was just going to let him be, alone and happy. I was quite far from everyone else when I heard someone following me.

"Didn't want you wandering too far off," said Jack. He quickly caught up to me, and was now walking at the same pace. I didn't look at him.

"Look, I know you think I'm some sort of egotistic hunting maniac," he began. I turned to stare into his eyes.

"Do you really think that's how I look at you?"

"Yes," he breathed. "I mean I know I love hunting. I really do. And I know ever since your arrived here, hell, ever since the plane, I've been acting very presumptuous towards you."

"I think," I said, pausing. "I think, Jack, that you can be very caring as well. You may think you're this big pig-hunting savage jerk, but I really don't believe that."

"Thank you," he answered. He didn't look away from my eyes. I blushed, and suddenly noticed that we had headed towards the forest. A long vine hung low behind my ear. I pushed it away, and we walked inside.

We stopped beneath a particularly large, tropical tree. I didn't even realize until now that Jack was lightly holding my hand, his fingers just barely grazing my palm. I didn't pull it away.

"Jack, I" He put his finger on my lip. I could feel my stomach doing a flip flop. My breathing stopped. Jack was so close to me. His pale eyes, blue as the lagoon they had first swam together in, his strong, centered nose that he glanced under. His golden lashes flickered as he looked out from beneath them. I felt like my heart would stop. He was so beautiful.

"Sophie," he said my name, nearly whispered it. I couldn't hear anything around us anymore.

Before I knew it, he was swooping down and pressing his cold, soft lips onto mine.

I did kiss him back. I couldn't resist, didn't want to stop it. I parted my lips and kissed him, kissed him gently at first, then he began sliding his tongue slowly into my mouth. I let him, our tongues intertwining. We didn't explore very much, I just kept it nice and neat. His lips were wet, they felt like honey on mine. It felt so good. He was so sweet, caressing my face ever so slightly with his fingertips.

_But what about Ralph? _I thought. He wouldn't be happy about this. I could tell from the look in his eyes when he looked at me, he might have feelings for me. But I wanted Jack, I wanted him so badly, to hold me and to kiss me all night. I couldn't help it. I was attracted to Jack, I loved his every feature, and I couldn't deny it. Ralph would just never have to know. If anything even happened, after this one memorable, but short kiss, we wouldn't have to tell Ralph anything. We could be careful.

We ended it slowly, his lips gradually pulling away with a final peck. He brushed the same hair Ralph had out of my face, only now I wanted to lean into him. I put my head on his gleaming, warm chest.

"So," he said into my ears. "I guess you know what I was trying to say. I like you…a lot."

"Yeah," I said. "Don't worry. I like you too."

He grinned. "Yes, I could sort of see that." We laughed, then made our way back to the camp. We let go of each other when we were in proximity of the closest littleuns. They were building sand castles. I didn't stay and help tonight, though. I hugged Jack good night, and went into my shelter to get some rest. My heart felt like it would explode- I was so happy. Jack had kissed me. He had really kissed me! And I now knew that our feelings were mutual. I could barely sleep that night.

The next morning, I woke up with a startle. I had had a strange dream- a nightmare, almost. I couldn't remember any of it; only that I was running through the jungle, between the trees and creepers, yelling someone's name. I was in tears. I was shouting their name like a maniac. But I couldn't remember who it was.

The bright sunlight peeked through the branches that made up my shelter. I had slept through all morning. It must've been 10 or 11 by now. I jumped up, brushed through my now hopelessly tangled hair with my fingers, and went outside.

Jack had not gone hunting, as usual, but had stayed behind, for a reason now obvious. As soon as he saw me, his eyes lit up, and he dashed straight to me. I noticed Ralph glaring at his back as he ran.

"Hey!" he said. "You're awake! I thought you were about to sleep through the whole day." He smiled sweetly, not a trace of his old flirty, smug smirk on his face. He was genuinely excited to see me. It was unbelievable how delighted that one little fact made me feel.

"Good morning to you too," I said with a wink. "Hope you slept well."

"I did, angel. Of course, it would have been a better sleep with you in my tent."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You'd wish."

He sniggered. "Come on. We're on fruit duty. And I'm taking time off hunting today."

I smiled. "Why, whatever for, Mr. Merridew?"

"Why do you think." This time it was his turn to wink, one blue eye twinkling. "Let's hurry up and get our asses out of here. Before Chief Ralph makes us."

_I don't think Ralph would make us go anywhere together__**, **_I thought. But I followed Jack into the woods anyways.

He was certainly not built for collecting berries and fruits. I had to have my fingers stained with juice as I picked the small red berries from the prickly bushes, and gather banana bunches and coconuts while Jack lifted me up to the tallest branches on his shoulders. I had lifted a coconut a little to heavy, and I swayed on his shoulders.

I screamed as I fell, toppling over him. He managed to catch me with outstretched arms, but we both ended up lying on the dirt. We both laughed, our backs and hair filthy, grime caking into our clothes (in Jack's case, bare back and shorts.) He got up first, and lifted me up with his fingers like I was a feather.

"Well, I think we've got enough fruits for the day," he said. "Until I go hunting and get us some real food."

"Can I come too, sometime?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure it's something I want you to see."

I laughed. "Why, is it too scary for me?"

"I highly doubt anything's too scary for you," he replied. Suddenly, driven by impulse, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him fiercely. It was very different from yesterday, I now went straight for tongue without hesitation. His eyes opened wide for a moment, then he began kissing me back fervently. He was almost like a savage, his tongue now freely exploring with mine. We both moved our heads in opposite directions, our lips interlocking perfectly. It was very heated, passionate, yet just as sweet as the first encounter with our lips.

We had been glued to each other for nearly 5 minutes when I heard a rustling noise. We ignored it, and continued to make out.

"Eh em," a voice coughed. I pulled away from Jack and turned to find, to my dismay:

"Done picking fruits, are you?" Ralph asked angrily. His face was tomato red, his eyes furious. There was so much hurt and embarrassment in his expression, I was embarrassed to look at him. His nose flared as Jack and I awkwardly parted from each other.

"Ralph, look, it's not what you think. I mean it is, but-" I racked my head searching for an explanation, only to find none.

"You really want _him_?" he asked. His eyes melted with desperation. "You choose him, not me. I get it. It's fine." He spat the words like dirt in his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Ralph. It just happened. I just- I really like Jack, and-" But apparently Jack had decided he felt particularly cruel, for he just smiled his proud, half-smirk, and said:

"Forget it, Ralph King. Sophie and I were just meant to be." And he swooped down and kissed me again, roughly, but passionately. I didn't kiss him back, knowing it was all to make Ralph more furious and jealous. But I didn't stop him either. Ralph looked away, disgusted.

"Ralph, I-" I turned from Jack, but Ralph was already walking away.

"I'm sorry I ever bothered you," he said. "Go on with your boyfriend." His words were hurtful, but I could tell from his voice how saddened and heartbroken he was. I turned around to face Jack once more.

"What did you do that for?" I asked crossly. "You've just made him more angry."

"Exactly," Jack answered. He was still out of breath from our kiss, but he still managed to grin widely, panting like a dog.

"Oh, you- you foul boy, Jack Merridew! He was my friend! And now he'll probably never speak to me again."

"That's okay," he said. Shaking my head, I shoved past him and walked onto the beach alone.

"Oh come on, Sophie, you can't say you didn't enjoy that! You like me, and there's nothing Ralph can do about it."

"Just give me some space, Jack," I called back. I stepped over logs, avoided the big shells and rocks, and made my way back to the camp.

"Just promise you won't leave me," he said. I didn't know how he had caught up to me so quickly. I spun around to see his face directly in front of mine. When the boys weren't watching, he gave me a quick kiss on the lips, then strolled over to the fire, leaving me standing on the beach alone, startled.

I couldn't quite believe how quickly everything had happened. Little over a week, and I was dating Jack Merridew. And Ralph wanted nothing to do with me. I sighed. Wasn't life grand on a deserted island.


	4. Chapter 4: Different

Chapter 4

Jack and I continued our relationship throughout the next couple of weeks. Ralph continued to ignore us, barely speaking to me now. I knew it was inevitable, but eventually, the other boys found out about us, too. The littleuns were amazed, not really knowing what dating was. The biguns mostly taunted us. Except for Roger. He just sort of stared at us when he first found out, like it was the craziest thing ever. Then he went back to sharpening his army knife with a blunt stone. I don't think he was too fond of our relationship, though.

Ralph and Jack also continued their rivalry with each other. Because of me, they seemed to hate each other even more. Every living chance they got, they would fight, bicker over trivial things. But those small fights eventually died down. It was nothing like the one incident, Jack's one mistake that led to our downfall.

It was a bright, cheerfully sunny day. It had been long since that day when Jack first kissed me, and now he was taking me on a similar stroll into the forest. Since then, I had begun spending less time with Simon in the jungle. He didn't seem to mind it. I knew Jack used to bully Simon a little, being small and peculiar, but they kept off each others' nerves for now, because of me. I was glad to have created some sort of peace on the island.

I giggled, wondering where Jack could possibly be taking me. He covered my eyes with one hand, and pushed away vines and tree branches with another. I could hear the birds from the lagoon singing their song. We were near the jungle.

"Are you going to tell me soon, where exactly we're going?" I asked.

"Nope," Jack said smugly. "You'll have to wait and see."

"Alright. But if you're taking me to on some hunting spree for the pigs, I won't be very happy." Jack just snickered, and we continued walking.

When we stopped, and he lifted his hand from my eyes, I nearly gasped. It was a cave, a sparkling cave not far from the jungle in the center of the forest. The edges of the cave sparkled, it was like someone had carved it out. There were sharp ridges here or there, but it looked kind of perfect to me. I stepped inside, carefully placing my fingers on the ceiling. It was cool and damp. Jack wrapped his arms around me to keep me warm. I didn't say word until we had crawled into the deepest area of the cave.

"This is-wow, Jack, this is really amazing." We had both sat down in the corner. I was gazing around the room in astonishment.

"You like it?"

"It's beautiful," I breathed. "How did you find this?"

"When I was looking for the pigs. I was exploring all over the island when I saw this place. It's hidden by a covering of vines." He pointed to the cave entrance. The sunlight was blocked by creepers and wild plants concealing it from the outside world. I reached up and ran my fingers over the hard stalactites found on the surface of the ceiling above them. It was low, making the cave altogether very cozy, and leaving room only for two.

"This is a private place where we can go, any time we want," Jack explained. "This way, we won't have to worry about the others. Or Ralph."

I sighed. "It's not his fault. He must hate me now."

"Even better reason for us to be here, instead of out there where he can see." Jack held me in his arms for a bit, cradling me in silence. The sky outside was slowly turning grey. A storm was about to come soon. He reached for my waist, pulled me close to him as possible, and leaned down to kiss me.

We were in there for so long, I didn't even know what time of day it was. It must have been hours. He touched me in new ways, we kissed differently even from last time. He was now at ease with playing with my hair, naturally grabbing it and mussing it, stroking my neck delicately. He planted his lips on my neck, and kissed me from the jaw line to the neck, for the first time. I was young, yes, but I didn't feel the need to hold back. We were on a deserted island, with no adult supervision, no rules, and no boundaries. Of course, I would never let things go too far. But this was the place to enjoy myself, to have fun until we were rescued. I'd never had much fun, going to a strict boarding school. I had never even been this close to a boy. Last time I wasn't living in a castle with 500 other girls, I was too young to know what love was. I think I knew now. I think I loved Jack. Maybe it was love, maybe it was just infatuation. But I couldn't deny the tension, the way I felt about him, my desire to be with him.

The sky was gloomy when we finally crawled out of the cave. It was still day time, I was sure, but the sun was nowhere to be seen today. Clusters of dull, grey clouds covered the atmosphere. But it wasn't just the dark weather that told me something was wrong. _Very_ wrong. Had something happened? Had Jack and I been gone for too long? I grabbed his hand, and we trekked down the long hill.

There was nobody there when we reached the beach. Ralph, Piggy, Simon, and the hunters had all cleared out, the bonfire dead. Littleuns were scattered around the beach, apparently oblivious to the others' absence.

"Where are the others?" I asked Percival, the youngest littleun running around screaming its tiny head off.

He stopped, and looked up at me with his big, grey-blue eyes. "They've gone up there! To the mountaintop, see?" he pointed to the highest point on the mountain, where the big signal fire was normally lit. Except there was nothing there- no smoke, nothing.

"Thanks," I muttered before grabbing Jack once more. We hiked up all the way to the mountains, where the biguns were waiting. Standing completely still.

_Uh oh, _I thought as we slipped past the boys surrounding the signal fire. It had been put out. Ralph stood in the middle of it, gazing down at the black ashes now covering his feet. He slowly lifted his head, and his eyes landed on us.

"You let the fire go out," he said. He didn't move. He stared at us, making me feel very uncomfortable.

"Oh, fuck," said Jack, putting his hands to his hair and grasping it in dismay.

"You were supposed to be watching it." Ralph's voice was deadly now. "And you let it go out."

"Look, man, I completely forgot about it. I'll light it again." Jack bent down to the fire pit, but Ralph wouldn't budge. He just looked at Jack, fire raging in his normally peaceful brown eyes.

"You let. The fire. Go. Out." He repeated. Jack looked at me, then back at Ralph nervously.

"Okay, I get it. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Ralph took a deep breath.

"There was a ship."

Jack's eyes widened with shock. I gasped. We just looked at each other guiltily, before turning back to Ralph.

"There was a ship! There was a fucking ship, Jack! If you hadn't let the bloody fire go out, we could've been rescued."

"Look, I'm sorry!" exclaimed Jack, sincerity in his eyes. I just stood there, horrified at what this meant. There was a ship. If Jack and I hadn't been fooling around, we could've been rescued. We could've gone home. I fought the tear threatening to roll down from my eyes. We had a chance to go home, and we had blew it. Jack and I, that is.

One of the littleuns began to cry, finally contemplating what this meant. I felt nauseous.

"Face it, Jack, you fucked up!" Ralph charged angrily at Jack, pushing him.

"I said I was sorry! What more do you want?"

"Don't you get it? This was our chance. We could've been rescued. And you were so busy with your hunting, your _blood-"_

"Hey, man, that's not what happened! I wasn't with my hunters!" But Ralph wouldn't give him a chance to explain. He was so set on the thought that Jack had ditched his fire-watching duties to go and kill a pig. Everyone remained silent around us, even the hunters, who knew very well that we weren't with them.  
"He's not lying!" I said, trying to help. "He was with me, it's not his fault, I swear."

"Don't make excuses for him," Ralph spat. He didn't look away from Jack, his eyes blazing. "He knew his responsibilities and he blew it."

"I did not!" Jack retaliated. He was angry now, too. "You just want to blame everything on me, because of _Sophie! _You hate me, don't you? You just hate that I got her, and that she likes me better than _YOU!"_

"Shut up! I said shut up! Damn you, Jack Merridew, you and your hunters! Just fuck off!"

"Gladly. I'll leave you now, so you can have your precious fire. Come on, hunters. We're going to go out and find a PIG! A real, live pig, and we're going to hunt it down, and we're going to KILL it!" Furiously, Jack motioned the hunters towards him, and marched into the forest.

"Jack!" I screamed. But it was too late. I glared at Ralph, who immediately shrank down. He must've realized he made a mistake.

"I'm sorry, Sophie. I didn't mean what I said. I think-I think I was wrong." He said quietly.

I sighed. "You were." And with that, I disappeared down the mountain, and back to the camp.

I didn't see Jack for a long time after that. He was always too busy hunting now, trying to catch a pig. He didn't return to camp, not even to eat or sleep, for the rest of the day and the day after. Neither did the hunters. I suppose they were all following him now like a pack of animals. And Jack was the king of them all. I didn't like the idea of all those boys, courageous maybe, but still young, being out in the woods for so long. It made it difficult for me to sleep at night.

Jack finally came back on the third day, cheering and laughing. He and the hunters had finally caught a pig. Roger, Maurice, Bill, Henry, Robert, and all the other boys thrust their spears into the air in celebration as they walked in carrying a very large, very dead boar on their shoulders. Ralph hardly looked at them before warming himself by the fire again. The signal fire had not been put out since that horrible day, but we were glad to have the hunters back to keep watch over it. Without them, the numbers had grown very small. Only Ralph, Piggy, Simon, and I seemed to be the biguns who didn't care as much about getting meat. Everyone else had run off to join the hunters.

"Listen up, everyone! We have caught a pig! I'm going to cook it, and we're going to have a celebratory feast! Anyone who wants to can enjoy it." With that, he forced the other boys to take care of the pig, while he sauntered over and pecked me on the cheek.

"Missed me?" he asked flirtingly.

"More like worried," I said, not looking at him right away. "Why did you have to leave for so long? I was worried sick about you." When I faced him, I nearly fell off my log in shock. Jack's clean, gorgeous pale face was covered in paint. He was hardly recognizable. Two streaks of what looked awfully like blood ran down his cheeks, and more black streaks of clay was daubed onto his face. Two bloody lines were painted under his eyes, which were surrounded by thick charcoal. The icy blue looked strikingly bright next to the black soot.

"What happened to you?" I gasped.

"Nothing." Jack grinned. "I just did a little war paint on myself to help blend in. You know, camouflage?"

"Is that blood?"

"It's a useful hunting tactic," he said, squirming nervously. "Come on, ease up a little, Sophie. We've been having a blast."

"Yes, well I haven't." I pushed his face away, too disturbed to look at it. He looked like…like a savage. A bloody savage. "And I'm not going to kiss you while you have pig's blood all over your face."

Jack rubbed at some of it, but it was now sticky and hard, crusted on his face. "I'll wash it off later, I promise. I needed it to catch the pig."

"Whatever." I grimaced, thinking of Jack leaning down at a pig and wiping its blood, painting his face with it. It was so unreal, nearly beastly. I wondered if animal-like instincts within Jack had been awakened from his hunting trips. I didn't want to make any more of it. I simply sat by the fire, not saying a word to him. He didn't try to get me to speak, but sat next to me in silence. I hoped he would realize soon what he was turning into. In honesty, I wasn't sure either. I was so confused about Jack. But I had a terrible feeling that he was changing, changing into something I didn't like. Maybe he really was becoming more savage.

In the next few days, I was proven to be right. Jack was obsessed with hunting and killing the pigs. Right after the sun came up, after shoving down a breakfast of meat, he would go off into the woods to find more. The hunters even made a chant that they screamed into the air as they marched into the forest together:  
_Kill the pig! Cut its throat! Spill its blood!_ They would shout. And Jack would be leading it all. I missed the sweet, flirty, and loving boy, the one who cared about me. Heck, these days I was spending more time with Ralph and Simon than my own boyfriend! I knew Jack still cared about me. After all, I cared about him. But he was turning into someone else.

* * *

Jack crouched low, dirt caking into his already filthy feet. He was bent double, his watchful eyes staring at his prey: a big, fat, juicy looking sow drinking by the river. He slowly lifted his spear over his head. Motioning Roger, his second-hand man, to be quiet, he quickly crept over to the bushes just behind the mother pig like lightning.

This was the mother of them all: Jack had found their little home, filled with small piglets. Those would be good for when they got a little older, a little bigger. For now, the biggest of them all would have to go first.

"Aaaaaagh!" he screamed, pouncing on the boar. She didn't have time to escape. Letting out a big squeal, she fell to the ground as Jack pierced through her skin with his spear. He landed beside her. The pig was dead.

"Yes!" he hollered. _Another one! _He had caught two pigs in one day. He could barely hold the excitement as his hunters all cheered, spears in the air. He grinned proudly. He was the chief of the hunters, he had led them to hunt down and kill 6 pigs in total now. They whooped in victory, and began carrying the creature on their shoulders back to camp.  
"Wait," Jack said, stopping the boys. He took out his knife, glistening. He impaled it through the sow's neck, and began cutting.

"What-?" The other boys looked curiously as he continued slicing. When he finally finished, he had the pig's head, dripping with blood, in his hands. No one spoke as he kicked the body to the side, letting the guts spill out of its neck.

There had been rumors around camp, rumors about a beast. Some of the kids believed there was a big monster, or some kind of animal, running around in the forest. Of course, it all sounded like bullshit to Jack. But he had to make all of them, even the littleuns, trust him. They had to be assured that no such thing existed, and even if it did, that he and the hunters could protect them from it.

"This head is for the beast!" he shouted. "It's a gift, so it may not bother us anymore."

"But-but I thought the beast didn't exist," said Sam anxiously.

"You can never be too careful," Jack replied. He impaled the head on a sharp stick nearby, and jammed the stick into the earth. He waited, until the head was steady on the stick. Without looking at it again, he and the rest of the boys began running, running from the head now covered with flies, and into the safe realm of the beach. They left the Lord of the Flies sitting on the stick, sharpened at both ends, with hope that it would be enough to keep the beast away.


	5. Chapter 5: Sacrifice

Chapter 5

I heard them bolting from the trees, crashing onto the beach before I saw them. I knew it was Jack, finished with the day's hunting job. They were running out to the campfire to celebrate, to cook their precious meat and feast on their kill. I grimaced. They were untamable, brutal. No one was sure of how far they'd go. I was beginning to be frightened of the hunters, even Jack, who still said that he wanted me, that he loved me. But he was spending more time looking for pigs now than with me. I felt a tear roll down my face. I missed the times when Jack had been peaceful and fun, the first week of our relationship, when he would do anything to spend time with me. Now it was always pigs, pigs, pigs. Hunting and killing, eating and dancing around the fire. Like animals.

Roger was the most terrifying. He followed Jack around, sure, like his little lap dog, but I knew Roger could be a dictator in his own way. He was even more eager about hunting and killing than Jack. The way his green eyes flashed right before each of their trips, it scared me.

"Listen up, brats!" Jack yelled. He did not come down and sit next to me, like he normally would. Instead, he stood in front of the circle, holding up the conch in the air. Ralph hadn't even noticed it was gone until now. He looked up at his rival indignantly.

"What, now?" he asked, exasperated.

"You've all been having your fun, sitting around on your asses, sucking up to your _chief, _Ralph," he began. "And now I want to say to you: he isn't a proper chief! He hasn't got us any meat! He's a coward, and all he cares about is his fucking fire, and precious, darling Piggy!" He pointed to their leader in outrage. "Look at him! He gives orders and expects people to obey him for nothing! Well, I won't put up with it any more." At this, Ralph jumped up from his log, fuming.

"What _exactly, _are you trying to say?" I was surprised at the ever-so calmness in his voice, even as his hands shook with anger. Ralph was so civilized, mannerly even in times like this.

"I'm _saying,_" Jack continued, "I ought to be chief. And I will."

"How? They won't choose you! They voted for me, I was chosen!" Ralph cried out, choking over his words.

"Why should choosing have anything to do with it?" Jack spat viciously. "I too am a natural-born leader, and I can hunt. I _should _be the leader." He looked around at each of us, then said, "That's why I'm going to create my own tribe. One for hunters, where we can have some _fun._" Oh no. Oh, no, please don't, I thought. Please, no, Jack, you can't leave us. Please don't do this.

"Fine," Ralph said. "You go ahead and make your own tribe. See who follows you."

"Alright, then. Hunters, let's go! From now on, we shall be my own tribe! And I'll be your chief!" Jack declared. With a flick of his arms, the hunters rose from their logs, and began marching away from us. Tears glimmered on my eyes. Jack didn't go with them right away. As Ralph stood there, seething, my crazed boyfriend leapt over to me.

"Come with me," he whispered. "Join my tribe, and you can have all the meat you want!" He kissed my cheek.

"Jack, don't do this," said Ralph. "She doesn't belong with people like your hunters. You won't treat her right."

"That's a load of crap," Jack snarled. "I can treat her better than you can. After all, she _chose me_."

Ralph glared. "Well she never chose you to be the leader."

"I don't care! She wants me!" Jack was now screaming, and I could've sworn I saw him blink back a tear. "The boys may have chosen you, but she chose ME! So I WIN!" He put his arm around me and began walking me down away from the fire. "Come on, Sophie. Let's go."

"Sophie!" Ralph cried out. "Don't do this! You know what the right thing is. I'm only trying to help everyone, so we can be rescued! You know that."

I stopped. My head was spinning around, and I looked back and forth from my chief, desperate pleading in his eyes, and my boyfriend, his blue eyes looking colder than ever. I knew what the right thing to do here was. I knew who ought to be the real leader, who I knew could help me get rescued. I had no choice. I loved Jack, but I couldn't let my feelings for him replace my sense of morals. Slowly, cautiously, I turned to Ralph.

"I'm sorry," I spoke softly. Then I joined him, standing by his side.

Jack's jaw dropped. I was so scared, so frightened he would hate me, slap me, hurt me. I stood there, waiting for the strike to come. I loved him so much, I began sobbing silently. But I knew that he wasn't in a fit state to be a leader, and that joining his tribe would only cause chaos. I couldn't not choose Ralph. I wanted Jack, but the Jack I loved was so far away right now. And I needed a proper chief to keep civility and order in me, in all of us.

"So," Jack said, his voice barely above a low whisper. "So you choose him. You want him, and not me."

"No!" I exclaimed. "I want you. Of course I want you. But I-I…I don't think I could be safe in your tribe. This is the right thing to do. Jack, I love you. I'm sorry." The water burst out of my eyes, falling like a waterfall down my face, streaking my cheeks. Jack couldn't look at me. I had finally told him I loved him, at the completely wrong time, and he didn't answer. He was heartbroken, I'm sure. But I was hurt too. He looked so devastated, like I had taken away his life. I think I did.

After what seemed like hours of awkward, horrible silence, he finally said, "Fine. That's fine…I don't care about you either anyways. You can keep kissing your damn chief Ralph's ass. I don't give a fuck." He retreated slowly, then whirled his head back for one last thing before running off into the distance:

"Don't ever speak to me again!"

I heard him mutter, "Stupid girl," as he ran, and eventually disappeared.

I wept, I let Ralph hold me in his arms, and I just wept, drenching his shoulder. He stroked me carefully, not being too affectionate, to my appreciation. I allowed him to soothe me as I cried, cried an ocean onto him. He didn't say I told you so, he didn't say anything against Jack. He just let me cry on him. Simon came to me, and calmed me as well. Simon, oh Simon. I was so grateful for him.

I didn't sleep that night. Jack. Jack was buried in my mind. Ralph did his best to comfort me, but I couldn't get my love, my true love out of my head. Jack had been my first love, and if we never got out of this god-forsaken island, he might be my last. I trembled as I thought of what a monstrous person he had become. No. he wasn't a person, even. A savage, a beast. If there was any beast on the island, it was him. All these thoughts still didn't make me feel better. I was in love with the beast, and he didn't want me to ever speak to him again. Did I do the wrong thing? Would it have been better to just stick by Jack's side, despite his inhumane, greedy intentions? I knew Jack only created his own tribe because he was jealous of Ralph's authority and leadership. What he'd said about Ralph were all lies: Ralph was a good chief, and Jack knew it. Just because he couldn't get them meat. Ralph was sane, smart enough to know that we needed the fire to be rescued. I could see now, what Jack wanted. It was clear to me: He didn't want to leave the island. He didn't want to be rescued, because once we returned to civilization, who would get to be in charge? The orderly, controlled leaders, like Ralph, or people like him who wanted power? He was power hungry, and I knew it. How did I let him become like this? What had happened to him? I loved Jack, I truly did, but right now I couldn't see him as my boyfriend. I saw him as something cold, sinister. I was dreadfully afraid of him.

There was also the matter of food. Resources were getting scarce, as the littleuns kept eating more than their necessary share of bananas and berries. We had no hunters now to get us meat, and none of us left in Ralph's tribe felt very comfortable hunting for pigs. I didn't want to become like Jack, but we knew we had no choice. There weren't enough fruits for everyone, and we were eventually going to have to get meat. The boys were too scared of the sea to fish; last time Samneric tried, they had speared a hole right through a blowfish that freaked the living crap out of them. Since then, no one had gone near the water.

Ralph was trying to get me to hunt. I couldn't even touch animals, let alone harm them. But he insisted that this was the only way to survive. I knew Ralph was icky about killing pigs too, but at least he was a boy, older and physically fit. I didn't think I could do it.

"Come on, Sophie. You have to try," Ralph pleaded. "We're all desperate here. We're going to run out of food sources soon, and you know it." I sighed. I climbed up the beach and into the forest. Ralph followed me. 3 days after my boyfriend abandoned me for his new tribe, we were going on our first hunting expedition. Ralph figured it would be best for just the two of us to go: the other boys who didn't know how to hunt would make too much noise. Not that I was any better.

"Here, hold this." He handed me our weapon, a long spear. It was basically a large stick sharpened on one end. I was doubtful of its abilities, but if the "hunters", who _were_ only 12 years old on average, could use it, then maybe I could too. I felt awkward and strange, holding the spear up with both arms. Following Ralph's lead, I crouched, and we slithered through the jungle together.

From what Jack had said, the pigs drank from the river on the other side of the island around noon, and rested deep inside the jungle. We went first to the riverside to check it out. No pigs in sight. We rounded back, and kept climbing through the vines and bushes.

I heard the loud snort, my head whipping around at the noise.

"Did you hear that?" Ralph nodded, and putting his free finger up to his lips, he crawled low in the dirt, his legs apart. I stood silently, trying to make my body as undetectable as possible.

"There it is!" I whispered. I pointed to the big, fat sow walking peacefully. I raised my spear. No, I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand to kill this pig, I would probably pass out at the blood. I couldn't bare seeing the blood spill out of its body.

"I—I…I can't," I said. "Ralph, I really can't."

"Yes, you can! Just try! Please, Sophie." Taking a deep breath, I crept up to the pig as silently as possible.

The moment I leapt out of the bushes, it was running. I chased it down, sprinting through the creepers, ignoring the cuts and scratches they made on my bare arms and legs. One branch caught my dress but I didn't stop, allowing the side of my skirt to tear. I nearly tripped over a rock, but I continued, running after the pig. Flashes of green appeared in front of my face as I ran. It was too late. The pig was gone, run off in another direction. But I didn't stop. I had lost control of my legs, I was getting dizzy. Only when something big and white and blue ran right into me did I gasp and crash course into a tree nearby.

Ralph caught up to me. I screamed, realizing I had run straight into a dead body. Once I had caught my breath, we examined the dead person hanging from the high branches of the tree I had crashed into. It was a man dangling from a parachute, a large white fabric. I grabbed at it, and tugged it down, being careful not to touch the body. I tore it off and we brought it back to camp, our first hunting trip a failure. Maybe there was something right about Jack and his painted faces. They had been able to hide from the pigs and sneak up to them using their camouflage. I wasn't going to go to their level, of course, but seeing the fabric I got an idea. At least I could be more comfortable while I was in the forest. For weeks I had been in my uncomfortable, slightly itchy and stiff uniform dress and jacket. Using the white fabric of the parachute, I ripped it into thin pieces, and fashioned myself a woven dress. It took the rest of the day, and all of the next morning, but I was finally comfortable, ready to attempt at hunting again. I didn't think I would ever actually stab the pig, but I could lure it into Ralph's waiting spear. I gulped at the thought, but tried to ignore it. It was for everyone's good. We needed the food.

The second time was, a difficult, but still moderate success. Together, Ralph and I, with some assistance from the twins, managed to catch one boar. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, glad to not get have any blood on my hands. I had simply guided while Ralph killed the pig. I didn't want to celebrate though. It was, to my shame, a slightly exhilarating experience, but awful never the same. I wasn't going to go hunting again. I hated it.

I stayed in my shelter with my earned share of meat while the others ate around the fire. I chewed on it, and as I ate tears began streaming down again. I went to sleep crying, as usual for the past few days, my fingers still clenching the leftover meat.


	6. Chapter 6: Broken

Chapter 6

"Ready, hunters?" a voice whispered in the dark. "Three, two, one-"  
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The hunters hollered, running like madmen around our camp. I woke up from my deep sleep, screaming. I ran out to see what the commotion was. The boy I loved, Jack, stood outside, holding a spear in one hand like a staff, and waving one in the air. His hunters had come to raid our camp. I stared in disbelief. Roger, Maurice, Bill, Henry, all of them- they had gone wild. They were tearing down shelters, screaming their heads off, circling our roaring bonfire.

"STOP! Stop it, all of you!" Ralph bellowed, his voice cracking as he tried to stop the hunters. Nobody listened. Jack leading them all, they continued running and yelling and chanting their hunters' cry. Jack, to my horrified dismay, Jack bent down and stuck a big, fat stick into the flames. So that's what they were after. The bloody fire. My former boyfriend yelled in victory as he scooped up our fire.

Even worse was what happened next: Roger swooped down at Piggy, attacked him, and was soon holding up his glasses in the air.

"My specs!" Piggy yelled. "Give them back! Oh, give them back, you!"

"ROGER!" Ralph screamed. "How dare you?"

"I've got 'em!" Roger shouted to Jack. "Let's go, Jack!" He began prancing towards the other end of the beach.

Cheering and singing, the other boys followed him as they left our camp.

As Jack passed by me, he glanced sideways and shot me an injured look. Like I was the one who had done the damage. Like I had hurt him. It pained me to see him like this, but not as angry as it made me to see him steal our fire. I glared at him in disbelief, before they were all gone, our campsite ruined and our fire half-gone. I could hear Piggy moaning slowly in the darkness, sobbing over his stolen specs. Ralph cried, too. We all did. No one could bear to pretend to be strong anymore.

The next day, we were all in a glum mood, remorseful over the fire, the destroyed shelters, and worst of all, the other tribes' immoral act of stealing Piggy's glasses. Simon and Samneric began work on the shelters again. Piggy just squatted by the water, throwing rocks, and Ralph sat nearby on a log, stony. I wasn't sure of what to do. I wasn't sure of anything anymore. I no longer knew Jack, except for the savage monster he was now.

"We've gotta get my glasses back!" Piggy cried, sniffling. "We can't let damn old Jack Merridew mess everythin' up for us! We can't let him run our lives, can we?"

"Piggy, it's no use," Ralph said, his head buried in his hands.

"No, Piggy's right, we've got to," I mumbled. "We can't let Jack steal everything from us. We have no fire now."  
"I thought you _loved_ him," Ralph replied venomously.

"Please, Ralph, don't do this," I pleaded, crawling over to our chief. He looked up at me, his eyes wet and tired looking. "Don't do this now. We have to get Piggy's glasses back. He can't see without them. And we need a fire. We have to do this for the team, Ralph." I stared into his eyes, begging with mine as best as I knew how. Slowly, he nodded.

"You're right, of course. We'll go to them now. We'll be civilized, and we'll be well-mannered about it. We'll go and discuss it with them calmly. Maybe they'll give them back to us, if we can reason with them." I didn't know about what Ralph said, about talking to them in a civilized manner. It wouldn't work with Jack and his tribe, I just got this feeling they were already way over the line between civilization and savagery. I shuddered at the memory of last night. But Ralph, Piggy, and I set out to the mountains anyways. I had to let go of my fears, for they were ridiculous. Jack wouldn't hurt me. He loved me, I knew, despite his now vicious and savage exterior, that he still cared about me. He would never actually kill any of us.

"Can I come, too?" Simon asked, following as we walked across the beach.

"Sure, Simon," I said, smiling. I felt like I hadn't seen my best friend in forever. "We could use the numbers."

"Well, then I'll just leave Samneric with the building," he said. I looked around and realized all the littleuns in our tribe were gone. Must've been taken by Jack's tribe, or gone on their own will. Samneric, Piggy, Simon, Ralph and I were the only ones left. "Let's go, Sohpie." I let him hold me in his arms as we walked, comforting me. I had forgotten how soft, warm he was. Ralph walked by looking uncomfortably at us. I sighed. I'd hoped he would get over it, over me, but it looked like it wasn't happening, even after everything we'd been through.

We could see Castle Rock, the cliff of rocks with a cave where the other boys had chosen to make camp. We called it that because it looked almost like a castle, with structured boulders and cliffs worn away perfectly by the sea waves below. Two boys guarded the entrance, holding up large spears.

"Well, here we go," Ralph said. Piggy gulped, and Simon squeezed my hand before we walked into plain view of our enemies. I held my breath.

"Who goes there!" a familiar voice called. It was one of the hunters, Bill, standing shoulder-to-shoulder next to Robert, the other guard.

"Don't be silly, you know who we are!" Ralph cried out. "We want to see Jack."

"He's busy right now," Robert yelled down at us. "He ain't got time for your lot."  
"Please, Robert, Bill," I said. "Just let us speak to him. It's important."

"You have no business being here. Stay off our side."

"YOU'RE telling US to stay off!" Ralph exploded. His cheeks reddened, his breathing becoming quicker and his fists clenching. "You just intruded our camp like some barbarians and stole our fire! Why should we stay off?"

"Boss won't like this," Robert said, shaking his head. "He won't like it at all." I rolled my eyes

"You know what I don't like?" Ralph retaliated, fuming. "You just barging in and destroying our shelters! And worse, stealing Piggy's glasses! That was low, that was really low even for you lot!"

"Alright, back off now." The two guards began climbing down from the cliff. "That's it. We've had enough of you."  
"What are you-" Ralph was cut off by a loud, Indian's cry from the other side of the Castle Rock. We turned to find Jack, his upper body fully painted with blood and clay, holding up his usual spear. About 10 boys stood huddling behind him in a tight group. Some looked very solemn, others maybe a little frightened, but giddy nonetheless.

"Jack!" Ralph called out. "Just be reasonable and give them back!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jack replied smoothly. "What are you doing on _our _side, anyways?"  
"Don't act blind, Jack, you know what we want! We've come for Piggy's glasses. It was a downright dirty trick to take them, and you've got to give them back!"

"Got to? Who says we've got to?" Jack's ice blue eyes flashed, looking colder than ever.  
"I do!" Ralph shouted hoarsely. "Piggy can't see! If you wanted a fire, all you had to do was ask, Jack!"

"I don't have to ask!" Jack snarled. He lifted his spear in the air and jumped down to us. My fingers froze, clenching into fists in order to keep myself calm. A bead of sweat ran down my temple.

"Give us the glasses!"

"Oh, yeah? And who's gonna make me, huh?"

Ralph speedily grabbed a long stick thrown on the side, and took a swing at Jack. Unfortunately, weeks of hunting had sharpened his skills with the spear. He blocked Ralph easily, and the two were standing eye to eye, glaring at each other, their weapons just barely blocking themselves from the other. They were matched with each other in size and skill- now they just had to fight it out. I knew we were outnumbered.

"STOP!" I screamed. "Please, stop it!"

"This is nonsense! Absolute nonsense!" Piggy hollered. No one paid attention. The boys who had been behind Jack yelled and shrieked in encouragement, fuelling the fight even more. Simon stood behind me biting his lower lip anxiously. He looked especially angelic, especially innocent and helpless at that moment. I grabbed him and held him tightly, making sure he didn't get into the fight. He was like a little brother to me now. I couldn't let anything happen to him.

"Fight! Fight! Fight Fight!" Jack's tribe cheered on.

"Go Jack! You can do it!"

"Kill him, Jack!"

"Beat him!"

"Yeah, Jack! GO JACK!"

I pressed my palms to my ears. Jack was killing Ralph, I had to do something! But what could I possibly do? Jack wasn't going to listen to me for sure, and Ralph was too angry, too brazen and crazy for vengeance to stop.

A loud, blaring sound was what finally interrupted the two boys. Jack, ready to plunge his spear deep into his opponents' throat, halted in mid-action. Ralph had covered his face with his arms, and he was slowly moving his fingers to his ears. The noise was very alarming, and very loud. I looked to see where it was coming from. Piggy, holding up the big, beautiful conch shell stood by the narrow rock platforms, looking stern and concentrated despite his lack of vision. We all stopped and stared at the curiously authoritative looking boy. His beady eyes looked down at us, frowning.

"We've got to be sensible!" he began. "Fighting like little children, throwing punches and spears, it won't help! We've got to work together and make things right. We've got to be one group again."

"If you want to be one group, then you can join MY tribe!" Jack hollered throatily.

"Yeah, we don't need you telling us what to do, fatass!" Bill joined in. Nobody was listening to Piggy, not even Ralph. The rules of the past, of the conch, were already forgotten. No one was bothering to stay civilized anymore.

"Piggy's right!" I said as loudly as I could among the ruckus. The other boys had begun laughing at Piggy's attempts to voice his opinion. "We won't survive on this island very long if we keep fighting with each other! Working together is our only chance of survival." I tried to get the boys to see our point of view, to realize what was important here. But Jack merely glowered at me while his hunters brushed my words off like dirt.

"Come on, Jack. Won't you even listen to your _girlfriend_?" Ralph asked.

Jack flashed his cold eyes towards me. For a moment, just for a second, they seemed to melt under the ice, and the brilliant blue became beautiful and sunny again. Jack stared at me blankly, swallowing. Then he simply looked away again without saying a word.

This was enough for Ralph. He grinned, almost triumphantly, before he grabbed my hand and pushed me towards the other tribe.

"You still like Sophie. I _know_ you do! Jack, please, do this for her. Give us the glasses. This is what she wants."

"No!" Jack yelled suddenly, making everyone jump. "She's betrayed me! She chose _you_, not me!" Maybe I was mad, but I thought I saw his eyes glistening with the faintest hint of a tear. Could Jack really still have feelings for me?

"That's not true, Jack!" I tried, pleading. "I still want you."

Jack appeared surprised, his eyes widening. But it didn't change his mind.

"You're lying. You've only come for Piggy's precious glasses," he hissed.

"No," I whispered. I only now realized my upset tone, and fought against the cracking in my voice. "Jack, I'm telling you the truth."

Jack froze. He was staring at something going on behind me, wide-eyed. I turned, frightened at his expression, a moment too late. I heard it before I saw what was happening:

"NO!" Ralph screamed, leaping towards Piggy's flying body. Roger had heaved the giant boulder he had been balancing on his feet for several minutes. I heard the loud THUD as it hit Piggy's head, knocking the shell out of his hands. The conch shattered into hundreds of brilliant pieces, scattering around me. I picked up a big piece near my foot, tears swelling up. No, this couldn't be happening. Piggy couldn't be dead. Yet Ralph was sobbing beside me and flailing towards Piggy's body falling down the cliffs, and plunging into the sea with a large splash. And like that, in a matter of seconds, Piggy was gone. Our only hope at sense and order. Dead and floating out into the Pacific.

Ralph didn't speak. No one did. For a long moment, heavy silence filled the air. None of the boys in Jack's tribe seemed particularly shocked, but they didn't appear to have predicted this. We stood in mourning, Ralph, Simon and I, while the others just stood, confused.

"You're not going to get away with this," Ralph said in a deadly voice, slowly turning to face Jack. His eyes were like fire, they glared at the leader with the deepest amount of hatred. His fists clenched, he stared at Jack menacingly, but did not approach him. He knew we were too outnumbered now, Jack and his tribe could kill all of us in a flash. Ralph, Simon, Samneric, and I were the only ones left. I gasped in realization. We were alone on this island, with about 25 bloodthirsty, savage boys as our enemies. I only now realized how dangerous our situation had become.

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, huh? What are you gonna do about it?!" Jack sneered threateningly. But even as he taunted us, the shock on his face didn't melt away. Instead, he bent down, picked up a stone, and began throwing them at us. The boys behind him quickly followed suit, hurling sharp rocks towards our bodies.

"We need to retreat, Ralph," Simon spoke quietly into Ralph's ears. For a twelve-year old going through such trauma, Simon seemed the calmest out of all of us. He laid a gentle hand on his chief's shoulder. Hastily, without a look back, we dashed back the way we came, avoiding rocks being pelted at us and creepers on the dirt. I didn't even have time to glance back at Jack's stunned face. I followed Ralph speedily, knowing our lives were in danger.


	7. Chapter 7: Old Wounds

Chapter 7

We returned to camp hungry and thirsty, the branches of the trees having ripped what was left of our clothes, and dirt clogging every inch of our body. I tugged on the roots of my hair, then released it, defeated. It was a hopeless knot that would never be untangled with a brush- I would have to have it cut off when we were rescued. _If _we were rescued. Samneric gaped at us as we came bolting through the trees, looking like a mess, and mourned as Ralph gave them the news about Piggy. _They_ were, at least, still boys. Young boys who were devastated at the loss of a human life. We had failed to get the glasses back, and only managed to lose the person they had belonged to. It had been a grim day. Right now, all I wanted to do was eat a good meal by the fire, and get a good night's sleep. But we didn't have any meat left, and so all I would get was a handful of mashed fruit and fish. I would most likely cry again as I fell asleep. We didn't have long, though, before our short-lived peace was interrupted by a rustle in the trees, then a lone hunter leaping from the bushes and into our camp.

Maurice, the gentlest of Jack's tribe, had come for a visit. He stood looking very official, but underneath the streaks of charcoal and blood, there was still a boy, only 12 years old, standing in front of us with his spear clenched firmly in his bony fingers.

"What do you want, Maurice?" Ralph asked, grimacing.

"The chief, Jack, wishes to talk to Sophie!" he cried out, his eyes staring out into the horizon as if he were a soldier, delivering a message to the enemy. Ralph's eyes narrowed, while mine widened in bewilderment.

"What?" I asked, not believing my ears.

"He wants a meeting with you!" Maurice repeated, now looking me in the eyes. "Alone," he added, glancing at Ralph.

"No!" Ralph shouted firmly. "Absolutely not. She's not coming by herself. I go, or she stays."

"Jack says he'll give you the glasses back, in exchange for one meeting with the girl," Maurice said.

"Ralph, we need the glasses," I said immediately. I walked over to him, now stiff and rigid. I laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going. I have to, we need them back or we won't be able to make a fire."

"No," Ralph said again. "You're not going. You want to see Jack. And he wants to see you. What if you never come back?"

"I will come back, I promise." I had to persuade him to let me go. We needed the fire, our lives depended on it. And my life, or at least my heart, just might depend on seeing Jack again. I knew Ralph was right, I longed to see him, to have him hold me in his arms again. Of course, I had no idea why Jack might want to see me. But I believed that he missed me, he had to from how he had reacted earlier to Ralph calling me his girlfriend.

"It may not be in your will," Ralph argued.

"I have to," I repeated anxiously. Before our leader could say another word in protest, I hugged him, gently pecked Simon's head, and walked towards Maurice.

"Alright," I said. "I'll come with you."

"Follow me," replied Maurice, already turning to head back into the forest. "She'll be returned by the end of the night."

"Don't lie to me!" Ralph shrieked. "Sophie, don't go! Please! PLEASE!" But the camp was already gone. They disappeared as I passed through the bushes, and walked silently behind Maurice into the jungle.

I knew where he had brought me. We were deep in the center of the forest, through the trails where Jack and I had walked together, had meaningful conversations. Occasionally he would stop me with a sudden, unexpected kiss, and stay that way for what seemed like hours, but were mere minutes. This was also where the hunters, and Ralph and I, went hunting. This was everything, and every place I could remember. Not far from here was the cave Jack had showed me, back when he still loved me. Well, I didn't know if he loved me. He had never told me. But I knew I loved him, more than he'd ever find out.

"Wait for him here." Maurice left me with that. As the sun went down, deep beneath the floor of the jungle, and with it, the light, I found myself wandering around the forest. No one came, and I thought maybe I should head back to my camp. _Or maybe I should go and look for Jack_. It was a silly thought, but I was becoming sillier by every waking minute on this damn island. I was falling in love; no, already in love. Everything I thought these days seemed silly.

I didn't walk far from the trees I recognized, but went a little deeper into the forest. I knew I was inching closer to the other side, where _they_ were. As I pushed back a tangle of vines in my face, stepping over a mass of bushes intertwining, I ran head-first into a pair of startling blue eyes, staring back at me stonily.

Jack.

We looked at each other. We didn't speak. I slowly parted my lips, beginning to say something, but he started first.

"You came."

"Yeah," I breathed. I realized my hands had somehow landed on his dirty, but still sun-tanned and muscular chest. I put my arms behind my back quickly, flushing. I didn't want him to know how much I had missed being allowed to touch him, not being afraid to.

"I wanted to talk to you, Sophie," Jack started, gazing at me. "I know you think I hate you."

"You do, Jack. You must hate me, after everything."

"But that's what I wanted to speak to you about." Jack stopped, and he stared deeply into my eyes, taking my breath away. He was so beautiful.

"Yes?" I said barely above a whisper.

"I wanted to say…what I want to say is…" he sighed. "I miss you. I miss having you around, holding you, kissing you…I just miss everything. And I think, I mean I do…I, I…" he was so diffident now, so hesitant. "I love you."

There. Those 3 words. That was all I needed to propel me, to fuel me into action. Without replying, I grabbed his shoulders and landed my parched lips on his with a fervent, hungry kiss. His lips were warm, like fire, they grabbed mine like liquid and kissed me they way I'd wanted him to for the past 2 weeks.

It ended soft, him gently moving his lips and placing them sweetly on mine. A long silence filled the air after we finished, just staring into each other with passion, and a longing that we both felt.

"So…" Jack said, almost a smile appearing on his face.

"I love you, Jack," I murmured softly. "I told you I did, and I still do."

"I knew you did." Finally, after an eternity, his famous half-grin returned to his face. I loved, was ecstatic to see it again, after all this time. I could still make him smile. "So come back with me. We're having a big feast tonight. I want you to come."

"I wish I could," I said sadly. "But what about the others? Simon, Ralph, Samneric…they're my friends, Jack." His expression suddenly clouded over at the mention of my group.

"Listen, about what happened to…about what happened. I want you to know I had no part in it. I didn't want to kill him, I really didn't. I know I hated him, and he always annoyed the hell out of me. But it was all Roger, I swear. I would never do that."

I planted a soft kiss on his cool cheek, then wiped away the dried paint from my lips. "I know you wouldn't. You're not a murderer, Jack."

"So you believe me, right?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Good," Jack muttered, nodding to himself. "That's good. That's really good. Now come with me. We can enjoy the feast together. We'll eat, you can join my tribe if you want, but I won't force you this time. That was my mistake. Tonight, I'm just asking you to come and enjoy yourself."  
"I cant," I said, smiling sadly up at him. "Not without the others. It wouldn't be right. And I love you, but- but I don't love your hunters. They scare me, Jack, they really do."  
Jack swallowed. "But you want to be with me, don't you?"

"Yes, more than anything."

"Make your decision, Sophie. I'm giving you one last chance. Choose me. Not him."

"You know I didn't choose _him," _I argued. "I chose the right thing. Ralph's trying to protect us, Jack."

"I see." Jack said. "So you think what I'm doing, it's not the right thing? You think I'm wrong?"

"I don't know." I bit my lip. Of course I knew the answer. _Yes. Yes, you foolish boy. I love you, and that's given, but what you're doing here is so wrong. _"Ralph wants us to be rescued as soon as possible. But you don't. Why is that?"

This time it was his turn to hesitate. "I don't know," he mumbled, looking down.

"I think I do," I whispered, leaning into his face. I felt his breath, warm and yet refreshing at the same time, blowing gently onto my body. "I think, and correct me if I'm wrong- I think you don't want us to be rescued from the island because-because you want to stay here and be the leader of your tribe. You have power here, power you never had before, and I think that's your weakness. You're weak to power, Jack. Now just let me help you, and we can get back to normal. Get back to the way things were. You Piggy was right, we have to work together again." Jack remained silent, so I continued, assuming my theory was correct. "I think you need help, Jack, and I can help you. I love you. But Ralph is right in trying to get us off this island. We can't be here forever. So please, Jack, come with me. Because as much as I want to choose you, I can't choose the way you live. I can't choose the hunters. I'm sorry."

Jack's eyes gazed up from beneath his long, feathery lashes, sparkling. I couldn't believe myself, couldn't believe I could resist those perfect eyes, his face, and refuse him once again. I loved him, but I could never join the hunters. I couldn't lose my humanity and give into their savageness. It wasn't who I was, and it wasn't right.

"So I guess I'm not coming tonight," I finished, shuffling my feet nervously. Would Jack hate me again? Tell him to never speak to him? I couldn't predict how he would react.

"Okay," he finally said, looking down at the dirt. His face was like stone, his body stiff once more. My heart sank. I had hurt him again. I was always hurting him. Why couldn't he make me do the right thing, for once? I'd always been told my morals were too high for a young girl. I've never been free-spirited very much, never let my self open up and enjoy life. But I knew on this island, with survival and my own life at stake, staying true to myself was the key to getting rescued. I couldn't lose a sense of who I was. And I guess, as I've come to realize on this island, I was a person with a direct sense of right and wrong, and virtuous for a fourteen-year old. That's who I was going to stay. The island wasn't going to change me, and neither was Jack. I just couldn't bear to let him go once more.

Tears falling from my eyes, I closed them and kissed Jack one last time on the lips. His didn't move with mine for a moment, stayed cold and hard. But he eventually gave in, kissing me, holding my face carefully in his fingertips. With a final peck, I leaned into his ear, said, "Goodbye, Jack," and walked away. I didn't look back. I didn't want to. I was afraid I would burst out sobbing right there. I heard enough before I disappeared through the trees to know that he was crying, too.


	8. Chapter 8: The Hunters' Song

Chapter 8

By the time I stumbled out of the forest back onto the beach, the sun had fully gone down. I had wandered around the jungle for a little before finding my way back, tripping over rocks and catching my feet on tree roots lying around the ground. Ralph had been awaiting my return. Simon and Samneric were awake too, sitting around the fire.

Ralph jumped to his feet as I staggered to join them. He and Simon came to hold me up as I walked before I was even halfway there.

"What happened to you? Did they hurt you?" Ralph demanded to know, impatient and nervous. His eyes were firm and dark. "Sophie, tell us what happened."

"Nothing," I said, shivering.

"Why are you shaking?" Simon asked. He sounded genuinely worried, caring in his loving, familiar way. I smiled sadly at him.

"I'm fine, I'm just-" I realized I was freezing. "I'm cold." The weather must have been getting cooler, the temperature dropping in the forest. It was the end of August when we had boarded the plane, and it must've been at least September by now. Ralph hurried to grab an extra shirt, and folded it around me as I sat down by the fire. I nodded up at him in thanks, barely looking at the makeshift blanket.

"Are you okay?" Simon asked kindly. I saw his compassionate face and remembered how close I had become to him over the first few weeks. I remembered my best friend, my first companion on this island, and I had to smile at his efforts. It was paying off to be Simon's friend; he truly was the best friend I could have. He was not proud and filled with darkness like Jack, and he wasn't overbearing and rigorous like Ralph. He was pure, sweet, and spoke plainly. He didn't have any secrets to keep, any hidden faults. He was so innocent.

"I'm fine, thanks, Simon," I answered gratefully. He smiled too, nodding.

"Even if it didn't go well with Jack," he said. "It's okay. Everything will be okay, Sophie. Jack will still love you."

"I'm not so sure." My voice was heartbroken, the same way Jack had sounded when I left him. So I had made a mistake. I missed Jack, I missed him so much. Why had I not gone with him?

I suddenly noticed the loud, cheering, thunderous noises coming from the other side of the island. There was a large crackling sound, sound of fire, and the smell, too. I looked up.

"What is that sound?" My eyes scanned the island to see huge amounts of smoke rising from Castle Rock. "What's going on?"

"They're having a feast," Ralph replied grimly. So they had already begun. We all stared bleakly at the enormous, rising black fumes from Jack's side. The noises I'd heard was singing, loud chanting from the hunters. The hunter's cry grew louder and louder, their song becoming wilder. They were far away, yet I could hear them so clearly, their voices cheering so loudly:

_We are hunters, we are fierce!_

_We shall kill the beast with our spears!_

_Kill the beast, slit it's throat, spill its blood!_

_Kill the beast, slit its throat, spill its blood!_

_KILL THE BEAST, SLIT ITS THROAT, SPILL ITS BLOOD_

_We are hunters, we are strong!_

_We shall defeat the beast, and live on long!_

_Long live the chief!_

_Kill the beast!_

_Kill the beast!  
Kill the beast!_

_Beast! Beast! Beast!_

An Indian cry, a howl in the night. The song repeated over and over, ending each time with "kill the beast!" I could imagine them, dancing and prancing around the fire, throwing their stupid sticks into the air, singing and gorging on meat while their _chief, _their stupid, ridiculous, power-hungry, beautiful chief stood by laughing, cheering them on. Jack was feeding on all of this, I was sure. This was why I couldn't go with Jack. I knew this would happen. How could I love a man, no a boy, like that? How could he make me feel like that when he was a beast himself, a savage monster? I knew the answer as soon as the thought came to my mind. It was _because_ of who Jack was that I loved him. His devilish, bad-boy charms, the way he made me feel special when he treated everyone like trash. It was wrong, but he made me feel so loved. He was flirty and funny, and the way he acted so crude and shamelessly perverse, it captivated me, drew me to him. He dazzled me. He was like an undercover prince, a diamond in the rough. No question he hadn't had an easy life, the way he behaved. He might not have been loved, or appreciated by his family. I wanted more than anything right now for him to know how much I cared for him. Maybe it wasn't even love, perhaps it was infatuation. But he needed to know that I wanted him, that he didn't have to act this way for people's affections. I would let him know. Yes, I would let him know tomorrow just how much I cared about him. I would go to him once this wild feast died down.

I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the noises around me. The boys sang on, and as they became louder and louder, the fire roared higher and higher. I could now see the plumes of the bright, crimson flames growing tall in the night, rising over the stars. The fire was too big. They were going to set their entire camp up in flames, burn themselves alive. The sickening, dry smell of the smoke wafted into our fire, merging with the ashes blowing into the sky from our flames.

I couldn't watch it any longer. Saying good night to Simon with a soft kiss on his head, his curly, incredibly soft tufts of hair, I crept into my shelter to fall asleep. It was surprisingly easy, despite the mayhem outside. I thought I heard a burning branch hit the ground before my eyes closed and I fell fast asleep.


	9. Chapter 9: Deus Ex Machina

Chapter 9-Final

I woke up to chaos in the morning. It wasn't even morning- it was early dawn, maybe 5 O'clock when Simon shook me awake wildly, his stunning blue eyes wide and panicked.

"Sophie! Sophie! Wake up! You have to wake up, now!" I heard him shout into my face as my eyes attempted to awaken. I rubbed at them. It was too early for this. I was about to yawn when I heard the screams, and an all-too familiar smell drifted into my shelter. It was the smell of smoke, only much worse than last night. I skyrocketed up from my bed.

"What's going on? Why is there smoke?"

"They've done it. Jack and his tribe. They've set the island on fire."

Instantly, I jumped out of the shelter and ran across the beach. Ralph was standing amidst Samneric's wild, hysterical screams.

"Sophie!" he shouted when he saw me. "You have to get away from the island, now!"

"What?" I cried.

Ralph grabbed my wrists, his eyes alarmed and fearful. "You need to escape. Get into the water. Jack's gone and set the bloody island on fire!" He angrily pointed towards their end, which was covered completely with blackening smoke. "Half the place is already lit. You have to get yourself out of here."

"Wha-what, how?!" I blundered, panicking. "What am I supposed to do? And what about you, and Simon?"

"We'll take care of ourselves. You've just got to go, Sophie! Take that piece of driftwood and swim out into the ocean. Find another island, a rock, anything nearby. Wait for us, we'll come and join you. Hurry!"

"NO! No, I'm not leaving without you-" I suddenly stopped. Everything stopped around me. Jack. Jack was in the middle of the fire, where the smoke was already filling the air. Jack was in danger. He could be dead already.

"JACK!" I screamed. I began sprinting past Ralph on the beach towards Castle Rock. "I've got to go save him!"

"No, Sophie! NO! SOPHIE!" Ralph's cries and shouts echoed behind me as I ran, taking long strides. My feet ached, each toe in pain every time I stepped on a shell, or a sharp rock. I didn't stop running. I was racing against time, racing against the horrible, monstrous flames that were licking the edges of the trees nearby me, setting them alight. I was terrified. Jack had to be safe, he just had to be.

I cut through the forest for a faster route. I knew it would be more dangerous here, the fire had already spread this way. I heard Ralph and Simon following me. I had to be quicker. They would catch up to me soon enough, they wouldn't let me go on. I jumped over a huge log sitting in my way, ignoring the sharp jabs of pain in my ankle as I landed crookedly on the ground. I picked myself up, thrusting my hands at the dirt, and continued the race. I tumbled through the jungle, like a feral girl, dashing past trees and leaping over creepers. I had been in the forest enough to know my way around. And I knew the way to Castle Rock perfectly.

The smoke from the fire was rapidly increasing around me. To my terror, I could see trees only meters away from me lighting on flames, caught by the fire quickly travelling around the forest. It was almost getting to be too much. Mutltiple times, I considered stopping, taking a breath, going another way. I even narrowly dodged a burning tree that set aflame in front of my eyes. I had run around the trunk, skidding my arm against it. It burned like hell, but it still didn't stop me. I kept going, knowing Jack could be in for a much worse fate if didn't keep running. I ran and ran, drips of sweat running down the side of my face, my hair now scorched and caked with soot.

It was the longest journey I had ever taken to Castle Rock. I thought I wouldn't make it in time, something would happen to Jack. But I was here, after what seemed like hours and hours of running on my bare, dirt-crusted feet through the forest. I burst out of the last layer of trees, onto the cool, rocky beach, and my first sight was _him_, standing alone in front of his camp, looking tall and grim-faced.

I didn't even start my way towards him, didn't get a word out of my dry throat, when the blow hit him. Fiery and burning hot, struck him down in front of my eyes. He fell to the sand, his bony arms spread out in front of him. A scream, a tortured howl tore through the lavender dusk sky and my ears. He looked so vulnerable now, so powerless.

"JACK!" I felt the word blow out from my throat, as I raced down impulsively to my fallen angel, my defeated Jack, powerless as the burning limb crushed his body. He was like a doll, broken and helpless. "NOOOO!"

I fell on my knees, my legs giving out under me. I staggered, crawling towards him as fast as I could. The branch was burning him, his shoulder blackening, his cry becoming louder and anguished. Simon and Ralph had caught up to me. In a flash, as if forgetting all of their past hatred towards the other chief, they came and lifted the branch with their bare hands, scorching their own fingers. The hunters were nowhere to be seen. They had all abandoned their chief in their most dangerous time. Ralph thrust it towards the water with all his might, and turned back to me. I now sat shrunken at Jack's body.  
"JACK! Jack, listen to me, you're going to be fine, okay?" I desperately lifted his face in my fingers, tears falling fast. "Jack, you're going to be alright. Everything's going to be okay."

Jack coughed and sputtered, spilling saliva and black ashes into the ground. He couldn't hold his head up on his own. I held it in my hands for him, my palms in his warm, blood-red cheeks. I carefully turned his body and sprawled it out on the hot, scorched sand on his back. I couldn't bare to look at his shoulders and back, burned to irreparable degree. I cried as I saw his chest, once gleaming and perfect, now scarred and scratched beyond hope. The sharp rocks on the sand had not been merciful on him-crimson blood poured out of several wounds on his stomach and neck.

Ralph and Simon didn't speak. I heard Simon weeping softly, while Ralph sat behind us, swallowing back tears. Stupid Ralph. He was trying to be brave, so brave, and strong in times when all you could do was just cry. It was so hopeless. The island was going to burn up, and we were all going to die.

Jack croaked, moaning in pain. I caressed his wounds, touching his cuts and wiping away the blood. Tears washed away the last bits encrusted in them. He looked up, staring into my eyes. The ice had melted again. His eyes, blue and clear, gorgeous, but so weak. They stared up at me, fighting to stay open. His eyes were fighting to open, but he wasn't fighting to live. His moans died down, his back slowly relaxing into the beach. He was preparing to die. No, no, he couldn't die. I couldn't live without him. Yes, we were all doomed to die, but he couldn't leave me before our ultimate fate.

"S-Sophie," he rasped, his voice now dying. I remembered now every time his voice, clear and ringing like a melody, had spoken to me. I remembered everything he ever said to me, the first time he told me he loved me. I remembered it now. "S-S-Sophie, I-" He gasped.

"No," I whispered. Tears got in my way as I tried to say more. I wiped them away. "Jack, please."

"I-I…I'm…I'm…sorry, Sophie" was what came wheezing out of Jack's lips, feeble and weak, but meaning everything to my ears. I brushed a strand of hair, matted under sweat and dirt, but still its original, beautiful blonde shade, out of his eyes. I saw them sparkle for the last time.

"I love you," he said with every bit of strength he had left, before they closed. I leaned down, my face inches above his. He had moments of breath left.

"I love you," I whispered. I pressed my lips down to his stone-cold ones. He used his final strength in his lips to kiss me back, soft and tender. I kissed him, kissed him for as long as I could. He was so weak, but it was still passionate, with all of our love for each other pouring out into that one single kiss. I kissed him until his back, slowly, fell and rested on the ground, his lips motionless on mine. I lifted my head from his face. I had drenched his cheeks with tears. Not stopping the sobs that came rushing out of me, I wiped his face, and looked at it, for the last time, every beautiful feature, his reddish lips, his cheekbones, and his lashes resting against his eyes, closed and still.

I cried over Jack's lifeless body. I heard Ralph beginning to weep, too. We wept, weeping over the events on the island that had led to our despair, the destruction of innocence and loss of trust. We wept for the darkness of man's heart, the real, savage nature of humanity, and the end of the life of my true, profound love, the boy who grew to be a man under the circumstances of this treacherous island, known as Jack.

Whirring, mechanic sounds filled the air above us. We looked up to the sky. Civilization. And just like that, suddenly we were back. Back in the known world, back into the world of civilized people, back to our old lives. As the helicopter marked US AIR FORCE floated down behind us, I remained weeping, understanding that we were being rescued-our worries, our pain was over, our prayers answered- but it was a little too late.

* * *

**Notes:**

***The name of this chapter, Deus Ex Machina, is irony. Look it up, and you'll find it's the opposite of what happened in the chapter.**

***When it says "the boy who grew to be a man under the circumstances of this treacherous island", let me explain. I don't mean Jack matured particularly on the island, at least not as a civilized person, but he had to grow under the circumstances of the island, and he became stronger and more like a man, but a savage man.**

*** The first chapter is named after my current TV show obsession :)**

**An abrupt ending, I know, but nevertheless, it was how I wanted it to end. There will be no sequels, no spin-offs or one shots. The point of this particular story was, the events that happen ON the island. That is the most important part. I didn't input much background info about the characters before their time on the island either. *shrugs* just how it goes. I hope you enjoyed! :D Thanks for reading.**


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